The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged Reform

GOP Preventing Confirmation Vote for Surgeon General

By | 10.26.09 | 2:01 pm

Following up on Daphne’s piece about the hold-up on Dawn Johnsen’s nomination to head the Office of Legal Counsel, this Roll Call story by Jessica Brady got published on Saturday, so it hasn’t received much attention. It should. Regina Benjamin, the president’s nominee for surgeon general, More…

The Waiting Room

By | 09.16.09 | 5:54 pm

Here’s a quick wrap-up of today’s health care news.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today presented his long-awaited proposal to overhaul health care. While Baucus calls his $856 billion plan (though in a letter to Baucus, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost More…

Mike Pence: House GOP Might Have Some Health Care Defectors

By | 09.16.09 | 11:59 am

At a breakfast sponsored by the American Spectator, I asked Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), the House Republican Conference chairman what I thought would be a yes or no question: Would all Republican members of the House vote against the eventual, Democratic-sponsored health care bill? Pence spent nine minutes talking about More…

Senate Finance Committee Drops Long-Awaited Health Care Bill

By | 09.16.09 | 10:03 am

Led by chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the Senate Finance Committee has just released its highly anticipated “Gang of Six” compromise health care reform bill. The full text is available here (PDF). More on this to come.

Rep. Steve King – The President ‘Threw the First Punch’ Against Joe Wilson

By | 09.16.09 | 8:35 am

At last night’s reception for the Federation for American Immigration Reform’s “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” campaign, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) gave a spirited tribute to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.). Wilson, said King, was an “officer and a gentleman,” and if “amnesty” is stripped from the health care More…

Senate Public Option Scoreboard

By | 09.16.09 | 6:00 am

As the health care debate twists and turns through the Senate, the prospects for a public option remain murky. This scoreboard, updated daily, can serve as your one-stop shop for senators’ stances on a public plan — in their own words. See our methodology here. Last updated: Nov. 10, More…

Democrats Lost Leverage From Start in Health Care Debate

By | 09.15.09 | 6:00 am

Democrats pushing for a government-backed insurance option as part of their health reform strategy are finding out the hard way that, by taking single payer health care off the table early, they have little leverage now to force a strong public plan.

Unlike the Republicans, who adopted the strong conservative More…

An Obama Bounce?

By | 09.14.09 | 5:31 pm

There was a minor hue and cry on the conservative blogs about 10 days ago, when the Pollster.com average showed President Obama’s approval rating dropping into the negative zone for the first time. Today, he’s back up to 53.5 percent approval and 43.7 percent disapproval. On the graph, this More…

Support for Health Care Reform Up, According to … Rasmussen

By | 09.14.09 | 9:54 am

Rassmussen Reports, the pollster whose surveys of “likely voters” most often show the worst numbers for President Obama and the Democrats, finds support for health care reform spiking since last week.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of all voters nationwide now favor the plan while 46% are opposed. In

More…

Video: A Tea Party Counterprotest

By | 09.12.09 | 5:51 pm

For the most part, today’s Tea Party was harmonious, with the crowds chanting in unison, “No Obamacare” and “You lie” and such. But there were small pockets of counterprotest that led to a few heated debates.

The most elaborate counterprotest came in the form of an a cappella ensemble, dressed More…